Poll: Anti-NATO sentiment eases somewhat

Majority would support referendum

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Just over one in four Finns - 26 per cent - are in favour of Finnish membership in NATO, while 56 per cent are opposed and 18 per cent are undecided, according to a poll commissioned by Helsingin Sanomat and conducted by Suomen Gallup.
      Compared with a previous survey taken in February, opposition to joining NATO grew from 53 per cent to 56 per cent. The change just manages to fit within the margin of error.
     
Finnish attitudes toward NATO membership have remained largely unchanged since 2004.
      “It is an interesting phenomenon, considering that many other things around us change so much”, says Juhani Pehkonen, executive director of Suomen Gallup.
      “Apparently there are no matters that would have spurred on changes in opinion.”
     
Opposition to NATO was at its peak in 2003 (68 per cent). At that time only one in six Finns were in favour of joining the alliance.
      According to the study, men are more pro-NATO than women are; 31 per cent of men feel that Finland should join NATO, while only 21 per cent of women felt the same way.
     
The most negative attitudes toward NATO membership are among those aged 50 to 64, 60 per cent of whom are opposed. Among professional groups the most pro-NATO are entrepreneurs (42 per cent) and upper-level office employees.
      As in previous polls, city-dwellers were more pro-NATO than those in the countryside. This correlates with the higher support that the National Coalition Party has in urban areas.
      The conservative National Coalition Party is the only political party in Finland in which a majority of supporters (56 per cent) are in favour of joining NATO. According to the survey, opposition to NATO has increased slightly among supporters of the Social Democratic Party and the Left Alliance. The percentage of supporters of the Centre Party who also support NATO membership has increased slightly.
     
Respondents were also asked if a referendum should be held on NATO membership if the issue is seriously considered.
      Supporting a referendum were 77 per cent of respondents. Of those under 25, 89 per cent were in favour of a referendum.
     
A 61 per cent majority of respondents felt that NATO membership would weaken Finland’s relations with Russia. The figure has grown by eight percentage points since 2006.
      However, Russia is not seen as a very big threat. Only one in five felt that Russia poses a big, or fairly big threat to Finland, while 76 per cent felt that Russia is not a very bit threat, or that it is not a threat at all.
     
The poll involved telephone interviews with 1,000 Finns aged 15 and above living in all areas of Finland except the Åland Islands. The information was taken between March 11th and 25th, and the poll has a margin of error of three percentage points.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Niinistö: NATO membership awaits at end of European road (12.6.2009)
  Poll: anti-NATO majority shrinks (6.2.2009)

See also:
  NATO Secretary-General wants “more significant” relations with Finland (3.3.2010)

Helsingin Sanomat